What are the rules for Genie Plus?

Genie+ is the latest Disney theme park service that replaced both the FastPass and FastPass+ services. For an extra cost ($15-25 per day based on the park and the day of the week), Genie+ gives guests the ability to use the Lightning Lane, which is essentially the line that bypasses the majority of the standard line once per ride per attraction. There are a few key rules and details to understand about how Genie+ works before purchasing:There are a few key rules and details to understand about how Genie+ works before purchasing:

• Genie+ needs to be bought separately for every ticket holder in your group on the day of your trip. It cannot be purchased before the date of visit to the park and therefore cannot be pre-ordered. Before you can buy Genie+, you must first gain admission to the park and have a park ticket associated with your My Disney Experience account.

• The price per Genie+ ticket is determined by the date and park of visit. Disney has implemented dynamic pricing for Genie+ where the prices differ depending on the degree of park attendance. It is usually priced between $15-$22 per ticket per day, though this increases to $25 on peak days. Visit the park calendars or download the My Disney Experience app to know the pricing beforehand.

• Genie+ allows guests to select Lightning Lanes for one attraction once a day per ticket. Once you utilize the access you have for an attraction, you cannot then use Genie+ to reserve that attraction again in the same day. However, you can book a different attraction as soon as you want as long as you have already used the voucher or if the return period has expired.

• Opening and closing times can differ for attractions. Popular rides can become overbooked and can be fully booked earlier in the day. You will have to ‘look for return windows’ as it were on the app and the more open you are the better chances you’ll have. This means that times can run out early or late afternoon even on those days that are not so busy.

• Return windows must lie within a specific calendar day and park. With Genie+ Lightning Lane, you cannot book across parks or park hop. As for Genie+ for multiple parks, you can buy Genie+ for each park separately and make attraction selections exclusively within the park.

• The Lightning Lane reservation process means that you can only have one reservation at a time. After booking an attraction and experiencing it, you can then make another Lightning Lane selection right away if other attractions are still available. It lets you ‘skip’ through the day.

• Some of the most popular attractions are excluded from the Genie+ service. These are accompanied by the need to buy an Individual Lightning Lane as an à la carte at a per-person price to get a shorter return window. Prices vary from $7 to $20 per person depending of the attraction and the day it will be played.

• It is possible to use the Genie+ Lightning Lanes and buy the Individual Lightning Lanes at the same time. It enables having both a Genie+ and an Individual attraction reservation at the same time which means effectively having two ‘FastPasses’ for two different attractions at the same time.

• Disney Resort hotel guests enjoy an additional hour of theme park time on select days if they are a guest of a participating hotel. On the mentioned days, all the Resort hotel guests are allowed to make the first Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation starting from 7 am as opposed to when the park opens. This puts one in a better position to secure more preferred stops before they become fully occupied.

• Ensure that you have created your My Disney Experience friends and family list way before your trip. In the park, there is no need for one person to manage the Genie+ as anyone in your travel party can download the app and purchase the access to attractions for the rest of the party.

• There is a recommended app called My Disney Experience that is ideal to download and familiarize with before the visit. Genie+ cannot be purchased through the app; therefore, it is required to make ride choices, view return windows, and control your experience and schedule.

• During the return window, you have to be in the Lightning Lane queue to redeem Genie+. If you are late you lose your Lightning Lane and you have to go back into the normal Fastpass line. Some attractions may allow an hour grace period but this is not standard.

• Disney PhotoPass photographers are stationed at most of the entrances of the Lightning Lanes where attraction photos of your entire group will be taken similar to the old FastPass queues. Extra augmented reality components can be incorporated into Magic Shots, and it is possible to take them in these lines as an extra.

  Genie+ is an attempt to put guests in a better position when it comes to planning their day. To get the most out of Genie+: spend time reading through guidelines, planning your day, checking availability in the app frequently, and utilizing all the tools offered. As compared to the previous FastPass system, Genie+ is a little complex but can help guests create their own itinerary. Knowledge of the rules is important to be fostered before one sets foot in the parks.